Category Archives: Theory

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Want a fun new way to teach your beginning students the concepts of time signatures, measures, AND counting by measures (all at once)? Check out this new printable card set! When I teach time signatures to young students, we use the analogy of a house… a funny house with rooms that are ALL the same size. We lay out evenly-spaced popsicle sticks to represent the … Continue reading →

Do you have students who perform regularly with a worship band or in a traditional service at their church? Since many of the skills required for church playing (lead sheets, improv, modulations, etc.) fall outside of the “traditional” piano curriculum, it can be difficult to find curriculum and resources to use with students. I’m always excited and grateful to find web resources that help fill … Continue reading →

I mentioned in a post earlier this spring that February was scale month in our studio (and as it turned out, March as well). I’ve found that it’s easiest for my students and I to make it through all of our yearly musicianship goals when we place an emphasis on one or two things at a time, rather than juggle several things at each … Continue reading →

It’s scale month in my studio! This February, we’ve put a special emphasis on scales – building them, playing them, memorizing them… you name it, we’ve done it! Several of my students are preparing for spring theory exams, so it’s given us a good opportunity to review the foundations of scale construction. And thanks to our February extra credit incentive challenge that rewarded students … Continue reading →

Edit: Unfortunately, this session was cancelled due to inclement weather. I’m still in Kansas City waiting on the snowplow to find our neighborhood instead of enjoying a day with colleagues in Wichita. 🙁 I had set this message to auto-post while I was on the road, and forgot to un-schedule it. But… in case any of you might find use for the handout, I’ll leave … Continue reading →

Learning grand staff note names isn’t anyone’s favorite part of music lessons. It’s a long process that takes lots of repetition and patience… and a game or two along the way to spice that process up certainly never hurt! Here are some more game ideas to add to your note name-teaching bag of tricks: These game cards may look familiar to some of you who … Continue reading →

Anyone up for a game of truth or dare? Don’t worry… unlike the version of the game you might have played in junior high, this new musical rendition won’t require any red-faced confessions or pranks worthy of the principal’s office. It will give you a fun way to review note names and intervals with your students! This game challenges students to demonstrate their knowledge … Continue reading →

Looking for some fun Halloween-themed games and activities to use with your students this month? Here’s a quick reference guide to all of the Halloween resources and game ideas available on Pianimation.com. Enjoy! Games Pumpkin Patch Steps & SkipsTurn your studio floor or floor staff into a giant-sized step and skip game Build-A-Skeleton Interval Challenge A Halloween-themed game to play with interval flashcards Major-Minor Dash … Continue reading →

I’m delighted to have a large group of new beginning students in my studio this fall. I love how enthusiastic and uninhibited first-year piano students are, and all of the games and activities that we get to do at beginning lessons are just plain fun! I like to start to introduce white key names from the very first lesson, even though my favorite method books … Continue reading →

Thanks to all of you who attended this year’s KMTA Conference! It was a pleasure to share some new games and “hands-on” musicianship resources with you. I hope you discovered some new things to try with your students this summer and fall. Click on the link below to open an electronic version of your session handout that includes clickable links to each of the games … Continue reading →